Mario Draghi, Princess of Asturias Award for International Cooperation

Italian economist and politician Mario Draghi has been granted the 2025 Princess of Asturias Award for International Cooperation, as announced today by the Jury responsible for conferring said Award.

Convened by the Princess of Asturias Foundation, the Jury for this Award was chaired by Gustavo Suárez-Pertierra and composed of Gabriela Cañas Pita de La Vega, Miguel Carballeda Piñeiro, Laura Díaz Anadón, Pilar García Ceballos-Zúñiga, Rodrigo García González, Cristina Garmendia Mendizábal, Charo Izquierdo Martínez, Mònica Margarit Ribalta, Íñigo Méndez de Vigo y Montojo, Baron of Claret, Pol Morillas i Bassedas, Juan Carlos del Olmo Castillejos, Isaac Querub Caro, Ignacio Villaverde Menéndez and Gloria Fernández-Lomana García (as acting secretary).

This candidature was put forward by Ricardo Marti Fluxá, member of the Jury for the 2025 Princess of Asturias Award for Social Sciences.  

Mario Draghi was born in Rome, Italy, on 3rd September 1947. He graduated in Economics from La Sapienza University in his hometown in 1970 and subsequently continued his education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he received his PhD in 1976. He lectured at the Italian Universities of Trento, Padua, Venice and Florence, and in 1985 was appointed Executive Director of the World Bank, a position he held until 1990. Between 1991 and 2001, he was Director General of the Italian Treasury during ten terms of government of different political slants. He subsequently joined Goldman Sachs, where he was Vice President for Europe. In 2005, he was appointed Governor of the Bank of Italy and in 2011 became President of the European Central Bank (ECB), a position he held until 2019. Following a period of instability in Italian politics, in February 2021 he was tasked with forming a new government by the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella, and was sworn in as Prime Minister, a position he resigned from in October 2022.

Throughout his career as an economist and statesman, Mario Draghi has been considered a key figure in the defence of European integration and international cooperation. Hailed by some as “the saviour of the euro”, his work as ECB President was widely recognized for his firm commitment to the stability of the single currency and to the fundamental values of the European Union (2017 Princess of Asturias Award for Concord). During the sovereign debt crisis that began in 2008, his declaration that the ECB would do “whatever it takes” to preserve the single currency was a milestone that restored market confidence and strengthened the cohesion of the European project. Launched in 2015 and maintained until 2018, the so-called “Draghi Plan” sought to reduce inflation to the 2% level set by the ECB and sustain economic growth in EU countries through the purchase of public and private assets. Although this plan has received criticism regarding its effectiveness and potential negative effects on the financial system, many experts have emphasized that it was a fundamental tool in saving the European economy during one of the most serious crises in recent decades. 

Subsequently, as Prime Minister of Italy, Draghi led a technically-oriented national unity government, supported by parliamentary forces of diverse ideologies and focused on implementing structural reforms and effectively managing funds from the Next Generation EU recovery program. In this role, he promoted multilateralism, cooperation between EU Member States and the strengthening of Europe’s role on the global stage, championing common policies on health, energy transition and digitalization. Renowned for his independence and long-term vision, Draghi has persistently advocated for a more united, resilient and supportive Europe. At the international level, he has maintained close ties with the world’s major democracies, helping to align Europe’s response to challenges such as the pandemic, climate change and geopolitical conflicts. In 2023, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen tasked Draghi with preparing a report on Europe’s competitiveness, underscoring his continued commitment to strengthening the continent’s institutions and economies. Presented in 2024, the report stresses the importance of strengthening the EU’s ties and of developing a common strategy for growth and improving competitiveness, focused on three transformations: innovation, decarbonization and economic security. 

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, Mario Draghi has received numerous awards, including the Grand Collar of the Order of Prince Henry of Portugal, the Grand Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise of Ukraine, the Global Citizen Award of the Atlantic Council (USA, 2015), the Charles V European Award (Spain, 2024) and the PoliTO Foresight and Innovation International Award (Italy, 2025), among others. In 2012, he was named Person of the Year by the Financial Times newspaper. Draghi is also a member of the board of directors of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton (USA) and an Honorary Trustee of the Brookings Institution and an Institute of Politics Fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University (USA).

As stated in the Statutes of the Foundation, the Princess of Asturias Awards are aimed at rewarding “the scientific, technical, cultural, social and humanitarian work carried out at an international level by individuals, institutions or groups of individuals or institutions”. In keeping with these principles, the Princess of Asturias Award for International Cooperation is aimed at recognizing “individual or collective work, in cooperation with another or others, to develop and promote public health, universal education, the protection and defence of the environment, as well as the economic, cultural and social advancement of peoples”.

This year, a total of 31 candidatures comprising 13 nationalities were put forward for the International Cooperation Award.

This is the last of the eight Princess of Asturias Awards to be bestowed in what is now their forty-fifth year. Previously, the Princess of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities was granted to South Korean-born German philosopher and essayist Byung-Chul Han, the Princess of Asturias for Literature was conferred on Spanish writer Eduardo Mendoza, the Princess of Asturias Award for Social Sciences went to American sociologist and demographer Douglas Massey, the Princess of Asturias Awards for the Arts was bestowed on Mexican photographer Graciela Iturbide, the Princess of Asturias Award for Sports was granted to American tennis player Serena Williams, the Princess of Asturias Award for Concord was conferred on the National Museum of Anthropology of Mexico and the Princess of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research was granted to American geneticist Mary-Claire King.

As is customary, the presentation of the Princess of Asturias Awards will take place in October in a solemn ceremony presided over by Their Majesties The King and Queen, accompanied by Their Royal Highnesses Leonor, Princess of Asturias, and Infanta Sofía of Spain. 

Each Princess of Asturias Award comprises a Joan Miró sculpture symbolizing the Award, a diploma, an insignia and a cash prize of fifty thousand euros.